Is there still a place for survival of the fittest in the workplace? That’s the question many people are asking. Is authoritarianism always effective? Should everyone be empowered, and what about accountability? Running a company means making decisions and taking responsibility for them. But today, the situation is rather confusing. Employees have gained a lot of independence, and it’s hard to know how to motivate them.

Why such a mess?

In 1990, Hewlett-Packard computer company CEO Lew Platt said, « We’re a group of 35,000 employees. There’s no system to tell us who we are and what we do. » According to him, it’s a company without a company! In other words, the concept of « business » had changed. Employees are no longer linked to a boss, but rather to a management team.

The result is that employees are not dependent on a boss who decides for them. They no longer have to do as they’re told. They are able to make their own decisions and act according to their own intuition and priorities. In other words, they’ve become entrepreneurs.

Today, the word « company » has a different meaning. It refers to a group of individuals who have objectives and organize themselves to achieve them.

1. The forces at work

The company is the result of a number of forces that can be divided into four categories:

production forces,

sales forces,

marketing forces,

and political forces.

Production forces

They encompass all the activities that enable the group to achieve its goals. They include everything needed to manufacture and sell products. For example, production forces include all the resources needed for production, including machines, raw materials, equipment and production sites. They also include staff working on the company’s behalf, including workers, technicians, engineers and managers.

Sales forces

They include all the activities involved in selling products. The group must find customers to buy its products, and it must have a sales system and sales staff to sell the products.

Marketing forces

They include all activities designed to increase demand for our products, whether through advertising, marketing initiatives, promotional strategy or public relations. Marketing forces enable the company to promote its products.

Political forces

They include all activities that enable us to influence political decisions in order to gain a competitive advantage. For example, the group can ask for favorable tax measures or ensure that its products are listed by the public authorities.

The strengths of technology

They include all the activities required to develop the technologies needed to produce and sell products. For example, the Group may develop a new technology for its products.

The power of communication

They include all the activities involved in informing and persuading consumers. The Group can communicate via advertising, media, public relations and customer relations.

Environmental forces

They include all the external factors that influence the company’s decisions and its environment. For example, the group can develop a communication strategy for its products when the price of oil rises.

Mixed forces

They include the three previous groups. For example, the Group may develop a new production technology when its commercial policy enables it to sell products in an emerging country.

2. Survival of the fittest: I win, you lose

The law of the strongest is a simple operation. It is based on the following three principles:

Eliminating competition. It involves establishing rules designed to favor one of the parties, and prohibiting certain behaviors. One of the objectives is to prevent the development of competition that is harmful to the company.

Concentration of resources. It’s all about obtaining the material and human resources needed to exert dominance.

Resource allocation. This involves defining tasks and criteria for allocating resources between the various parties.

The first two points are designed to ensure the company’s market dominance, and the third to define the rules of the game.

The Four Forces model has been enhanced by the Five Forces approach, making it a more powerful tool. It highlights five forces of reality:

The power of supply. It corresponds to the quantity of supply on the market and its evolution. This force is determined by the factors of production, i.e. the material and human resources required to produce a good or service.

The power of demand. It corresponds to the quantity of demand on the market and its evolution. This strength is determined by demand factors, i.e. a consumer’s ability to fulfill his or her needs.

Competitive strength. It corresponds to the number of companies on the market and their evolution. This strength is determined by the environment, i.e. other companies in the market.

The strength of external partners. It corresponds to the number and evolution of external partners (business partners, suppliers, service providers, resource providers, etc.). This strength is determined by the environment, i.e. the other companies in the value chain.

Competitors’ strength. It corresponds to the number and evolution of competitors on the market. This strength is determined by the environment, i.e. other companies in the market.

3. Work as a team to identify and solve problems

Identifying and solving problems is a crucial step in strategic planning. Indeed, it’s essential to make decisions based on facts, not assumptions. This is an important process, because you need to identify your strategic issues in order to solve them.

To identify your problems, you first need to know what to do (your strategy) and how to do it (your action plans), before you can determine who does what.

The strategic problem-solving process can be broken down into four stages:

• Identify strategic issues.
• Conduct an analysis and draw up a list of problems.
• Set priorities.
• Solve strategic problems.

The first step is to identify and prioritize strategic issues. The question to ask yourself is: « What are the problems that are preventing me from realizing my strategy and carrying out my action plans? »

Each problem must then be analyzed to determine the cause of the problem, i.e. why it exists. Information must be gathered from all company stakeholders, such as employees, suppliers, customers and competitors. The next step is to analyze this information, list it and identify the key factors.

Problems should be prioritized according to key factors. Priority should reflect the seriousness of the problem and the possibility of solving it in the short term.

The analysis of key factors can also include an analysis of the competitive situation: who are the competitors, what are their objectives and what are their strategies?

Then the problems must be prioritized according to key factors. Priority should reflect the seriousness of the problem and the possibility of solving it in the short term.

In a multinational company, problems may differ from one country to another, and we need to ask ourselves whether these problems can be solved by local action, or whether global action is required.

Problems should be prioritized according to key factors.

Priority should reflect the seriousness of the problem and the possibility of solving it in the short term.

4. Teamwork for success

A team of analysts is a way of carrying out projects that require several people to work in parallel on a specific project.

The analyst team can be defined as the various groups of people who work together to carry out a specific project or a number of projects.

Teams of analysts can be set up within the framework of a project, a sub-activity or an activity. Teams of analysts can be used in a variety of ways. For example, they can be used to perform analyses, study problems or develop solutions. The team can also be used to carry out specific tasks required by a project or activity.

Teams of analysts can be used to carry out analyses for various types of project, including those linked to improving operational efficiency and effectiveness, those linked to change management or those linked to development. The development tasks of a team of analysts may include carrying out analyses.

5. Teamwork

It begins with a diagnosis of the company’s needs. Its objectives are set by the analyst or team leader and its members. They enable us to determine the people who will be needed to carry out the various stages of the analysis, and the resources they will require.

Numerous studies have shown that working with a team leader leads to greater commitment, higher motivation and more positive results.

6. The importance of the leader’s role

The role of the leader in a team is to guide and supervise the team’s work. He/she must provide feedback and encourage the sharing of ideas. He (she) must also ensure that members have the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out the task assigned to them. He/she must also support team members in their research and reflection processes. Finally, he (she) must provide moral support and help members overcome any difficulties they may face.

Article source: www.instants-web.fr